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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28800960">Sette</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaCacciatrice/pseuds/LaCacciatrice'>LaCacciatrice</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>7+1, Assassination Attempt(s), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Poisoning, because that kid screams cptsd, no beta read we die like 41st division, we basically observe zuko's complex ptsd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:33:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28800960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaCacciatrice/pseuds/LaCacciatrice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sokka spends 7 days sitting next to an unconscious Zuko after he got poisoned by Ozai loyalists. During those 7 days, he finds out 7 things about Zuko and his life and maybe one thing about himself, too.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iroh &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sette</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>English isn't my first language, I only self-studied, so, keep your expectations low<br/>Zuko is 21 and Sokka is 20<br/>I will add other characters' tags with their chapters<br/>I am not a professional, I took psychology for a year, that's all. I have no professional knowledge. I am just someone who suffered her entire life from mental illnesses and you should see this fic as someone merging their own struggles with their comfort character's instead of textbook knowledge. He just fits the mold, my mold, perfectly, he is separated from his mom at an early age and not allowed to talk about her, the only other positive influence in his life is gone because Iroh was going on a spiritual journey after his son’s death and I suspect he wasn’t aware of the abuse he was going through because he was a general who spent 600 days at the siege of Ba Sing Se. He was probably rarely at home before Zuko’s banishment. He is criticized and ridiculed all his life by his father and sister, he has no positive image of himself in his mind he is constantly being judged and humiliated. He grows up in an environment that is unsafe and he is afraid of his father (be it disappointing him or angering him).  So, yeah... a very interesting character to explore.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Long calloused fingers that belonged to a warrior pressed against the smooth skin of his forehead, trying to rub away the pain unsuccessfully. He could feel internal fever taking control of his body, enhancing the headache that was threatening to split his head in two. He was so damn tired and the anxiety turned his hands into ice cubes while his head felt like the blood was boiling inside. His other hand was lying on the soft sheets of the infirmary bed, fingers tightly wrapped around the pale ones. The softness of the sheets wasn’t a surprise since all the Fire Lords had a better, separate, and highly secure room in the infirmary, and considering how often this new Fire Lord visited the place, the room was well taken care of by the servants and the healers. At least he had privacy here, in this familiar room; he felt no danger as he closed his eyes with a tired sigh. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Poisoned.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A part of him felt like laughing out loud until tears spilled from his eyes because this was fucking hilarious. It was the coward’s way of killing someone, even in this act, </span>
  <span>Ozai’s</span>
  <span> followers represented the cowardice of the man who hid behind his 14 years old daughter to do his dirty work and spent his entire life safely hidden in the palace, unlike his brother until the day of the comet that enhanced his power which he used against a 12 years old kid. What a fucking joke. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Another part of him wanted to cry and bite his fist until he draws blood because he was so fucking stupid. He laughed at Zuko’s face, he wrapped his strong, muscular arm around Zuko’s pale neck and pressed the golden-eyed boy against his body and told him he was being paranoid. Zuko was quiet, which wasn’t necessarily an alarming thing because the young Fire Lord was often that way. Sokka, on the other hand, laughed and joked around, tipsy from the rice wine and sake passed around during the festival. And to be fair, Zuko was, indeed, paranoid quite often. So, when the long-haired young man squinted his eyes at a new servant who offered him a goblet filled with baijiu, Zuko turned around to whisper in Sokka’s ear, who was chatting with a minister, that he has never seen this guy in the palace before, Sokka couldn’t see the problem. Sokka knew that Zuko loved making small conversations with his employees, it made him feel less alone and mostly because those were the only </span>
  <span>people</span>
  <span> he interacted with without worrying about an ulterior motive. He knew Zuko tried to remember their names and faces but honestly, Zuko lived in a huge palace and there was no way he could keep up with all of them. Plus, Sokka was sure he was just another guy who was specifically hired by the kitchen staff to help during the festival. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka felt like an idiot for making fun of Zuko’s sensitive royal taste buds when he complained about the strange taste. But that feeling replaced by dread and anger at himself when Zuko stood up and muttered a quick good-night to everyone before going back to his chambers, looking paler than usual with cold sweat shining on his forehead. No, Sokka felt absolutely terrified when he followed his friend back to his chambers – because even when he was almost drunk, he was still observant when it comes to Zuko </span>
  <span>–  and</span>
  <span> the Fire Lord collapsed in front of the doors of his chambers, his two Royal Guards barely catching his </span>
  <span>unconscious</span>
  <span> body. Even in his drunken state, Sokka acted quickly; he wrapped one arm around Zuko’s shoulders and pulled him against his chest, pressing his head against his neck. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking, probably nothing in that moment of fear, as he almost yanked Zuko away from the guard who was holding him. He couldn’t think clearly and for a moment he believed the guards did something to him as his hand reached for his sword. But there was no need to fight because </span>
  <span>Ozai’s</span>
  <span> supporters were fucking cowards who poisoned the Fire Lord and ran away. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>One of the guards ran to get help while the other kneeled down next to him and was saying something to Sokka but the blue-eyed man was not in a state where he could understand him. He placed his warm hand against Zuko’s unnaturally cold, pale cheek, almost afraid he is going to break the young man.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Now, sitting here, he still felt terrible but at least he knew that Zuko was not going to die the moment Sokka turned his eyes away. Uma kept assuring him that the Fire Lord was stable, that he wasn’t going to die but his body required time to heal itself.</span>
  
  <span>So, here he was, sitting next to a Zuko who looked very much dead no matter what Uma said. That’s why he kept his fingers tightly wrapped around his friend’s unnaturally cold fingers. He had to be sure.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He flinched, right hand reaching for his sword as the fingers of his other hand tightened around Zuko’s when the door slowly opened. But Sokka’s muscles relaxed immediately when his eyes found the warm gold eyes that reminded him of Zuko’s. Iroh looked tired, his smile wasn’t as soothing as it used to be since the worry in his old features was clear to Sokka.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope I didn’t wake you.” He said softly as he dragged another chair next to Sokka’s. Young boy shook his head, untangling his fingers from Zuko’s and placing his hand on his lap ashamedly. Iroh looked at him amusedly but didn’t comment on his reaction. “I talked to Uma, she said he’s going to be fine.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what she told me.” Sokka muttered. “It’s hard to believe when...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“When he looks so lifeless?” Iroh finished his sentence softly. Sokka flinched, eyes widening as he looked down at Zuko’s closed eyes.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I –” He stuttered. “I should have listened to him. He tried to tell me and I—”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault.” Iroh placed a soft hand on Sokka’s. That’s what Zuko’s hands were supposed to feel like. Warm. Not this cold, dry skin that felt like a shell more than a person. “My nephew has many enemies.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And it makes no sense!” He hissed unintentionally. “It’s been 5 </span>
  <span>years,</span>
  <span> those losers still think they can take him down and put that jerk on the throne and everyone will just accept it? Zuko’s been doing almost everything right. Yes, there have been some problems but he took over a country that has been torn by war for the last 100 years and he worked tirelessly to make a change. He brought peace to his country. I was there, I was there when he lowered the taxes for the farmers and commoners while doing industrial reforms after closing military factories and regulate the pricing of the medicine or when he supported agriculture to richen his country after his grandfather shifted their entire budget to war, or when he skipped sleep and worked to undo </span>
  <span>Sozin’s</span>
  <span> stupid laws or restored the neglected hospitals and orphanages after 100 years of war when he made educational reforms and strengthened foreign relations and gave us financial support and manpower to rebuild our Tribe and new tradelines and—” He took a shaky breath, running a hand through his messy hair – he wasn’t sure when he lost his hairband –, a sudden shame struck him for losing himself like this in front of Iroh. He turned to look at the older man who was watching him patiently with kind eyes. He whispered: “It’s just not fair.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not the citizens who hate Zuko.” Iroh muttered softly, catching the hidden frustration between Sokka’s words because were those people so ungrateful?! Sokka first-hand witnessed what some of the Fire Nation towns that were located far away from the capital suffered during the war. Zuko was working for all of them, not for the Royal Family or Capital City alone. How could they not appreciate him?! “He called their daughters and sons back from war. He worked to earn their trust. But it’s the nobles who want to take him down.” He looked down at his nephew with a fond expression. “Yes. He’s been doing great. But that’s the problem. Not everyone wants their nation to flourish and grow if it affects their own growth. War serves no one except that little percentage of people who have the stomach to take advantage of it. Some people gained new business deals and titles during the war by supporting </span>
  <span>Azulon</span>
  <span> or </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>. They don’t care about my brother, he never had any strong presence among our citizens to build such loyalty, and they don’t hate my nephew. They are afraid of him because they think he will come after them and take everything they built in the last 100 years away.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“As they should.” He said darkly. “They encouraged a war that torn apart families and killed millions. For what? Money? Title? They are no less evil than </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That, I agree with.” Iroh said softly. They both stayed quiet for a while, watching Zuko sleep was somehow calming. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They don’t deserve him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought bitterly. But to Sokka, no one actually deserved Zuko. He knew his friend would hate him if he admitted out loud but Zuko always felt so fragile and untouchable to Sokka, especially after his coronation. How could he explain to Zuko that he didn’t mean it like he was weak or easy to break? It was just... He watched his friend work himself to death. He watched Zuko stay in bed for weeks after Azula’s lightning, he listened to his nightmares while they took turns to wait by his side at night. Zuko was special, unique and so deeply and severely abused. Yet... yet he found his compassion, his goodness that his father tried to beat out of him. Some days, Sokka couldn’t even dare to touch someone so special, so complex, so... He wasn’t sure. He just felt like he couldn’t trust anyone with Zuko. He deserved the best. He deserved to be cherished, he deserved to take a break after everything he’s been through in 16 years instead of getting out of his sickbed and start rebuilding his very messed up nation. He remembered Katara scolding the newly crowned Fire Lord to be more careful because the stress was bad for his heart when he wasn’t fully healed yet.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There was a time when he would enjoy seeing Zuko in a terrible place, in a horrible situation. But now... now they were friends. And Zuko wasn’t the angry, selfish </span>
  <span>jerkbender</span>
  <span> who wanted to destroy the Avatar to gain his father’s approval. Zuko was a </span>
  <span>soft-hearted</span>
  <span> fool who wanted to make his uncle and his nation proud by being a good leader but since he grew up with </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>, he convinced himself that the only way to make someone proud was to suffer and work yourself to death</span>
  <span>.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Penance. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, Sokka knew what it was all about. It was Zuko’s penance. He never let Sokka drive him away from work to spend a quiet day together. He never let himself enjoy anything. He turned into a workaholic and Sokka wondered if it was always like this since Zuko was a little kid. If he always worked for something; to become a good heir, to learn more about other elements and nations to be prepared for his face off with the Avatar, to capture the Avatar, to gain his father’s love...</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Was he always like this?” He asked out of nowhere. Iroh turned his golden eyes to him with a questioning look. It was too late to take back his words and honestly, according to Uma, they were going to spend lots of time here, waiting for Zuko to wake up so, maybe it was okay for Sokka to voice his questions. Especially to Iroh who wouldn’t judge him or let this conversation leave this room. Also, he was probably the only one to be able to say anything about Zuko’s childhood. Sokka couldn’t imagine himself going down there and having a friendly chat about Zuko’s </span>
  <span>embarrassing</span>
  <span> childhood stories with </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Iroh asked.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” Sokka shrugged. “He is a hard-worker. It took me some time to notice but everything he does, even the silliest thing, he does with so much passion and determination. It’s just so hard to imagine Zuko as a child who played around and wasn’t serious all the time.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, he played around a lot.” Iroh chuckled at a very old memory. “It’s hard to imagine, I know, but he and Azula were playing together in the gardens a lot when they were little. Before their </span>
  <span>firebending</span>
  <span> training began.” Iroh’s face softened with a tint of sadness. “He wasn’t always serious, he loved playing soldier. He dreamed of becoming a general like me. He begged Lu Ten to take him with him when we were leaving for Ba Sing Se.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So...” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “He wasn’t always like... this?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He was a sweet little boy, one that I wished I could spend more time with.” He smiled down at his nephew. “It pains me to know that my mistakes cost all of us so greatly.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you talking about your son’s death?” He asked softly. Iroh sighed, eye not meeting Sokka’s.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything.” He muttered. “I have always been praised for being a great general, even when I was young. My father was proud of my accomplishments, he would say my observation skills were my greatest strength. Yet... they failed me when it mattered the most.” Sokka listened to him with a heavy heart. “Only a great loss and a journey far beyond our realm opened my eyes to the cruelty of our nation and the suffering this war brought upon everyone. I let my delusional idea of duty took my son from me. Then I let my brother claim the throne for himself to spread his cruelty beyond our borders. And I... I failed Zuko, too.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You guided and helped Zuko.” Sokka assured him softly. “You should hear the way your nephew talks about you sometimes. Especially when he misses you. He told me he would fall into that pit of darkness and turn into a broken image of his father if it wasn’t for you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything I did, I did because I love my nephew.” Unlike Zuko, voicing his love and affection came easy to Iroh. All those times, he held back because he knew it wasn’t welcomed by Zuko. And as he spent some time with healers who practiced the mental state of humans and brain damages, he learned few things that helped him to understand Zuko better. Zuko didn’t push Iroh away because he wasn’t grateful for Iroh, it wasn’t because he didn’t love his uncle. “But I guess I was too blind when it comes to him.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“When he was a child?” Iroh nodded grimly.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko and I couldn’t spend a lot of time together when he was a little kid. I was always moving around the Earth Kingdom, conquering little towns until we reached the walls of Ba Sing Se, where the siege began.” He admitted, his voice was heavy with the guilt of his actions even after making peace with his past. It was never easy to live with the knowledge of the consequences of your actions. “I was rarely at the palace. But when I was here, especially with Lu Ten, I would try to spend time with my nephew and niece. Azula didn’t appreciate my presence, she was closer to her father than her mother. Ursa and I would have some tea while Lu Ten played with Zuko.” He shook his head. “I should have seen the signs, especially after I returned to the Fire Nation and realized Ursa was gone. But... I think I was distracting myself, even after my journey, I still missed my son so much.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It must be really hard.” Sokka muttered. Iroh smiled at the blue-eyed boy.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It was. And Zuko was very observant, too. He would often bring me little gifts; an origami dragon, a panting, some tea he begged the kitchen staff to make...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He sounds really sweet.” Sokka smiled fondly. “I can’t imagine him turning into the person I met in Southern Tribe.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It isn’t easy to change a person so thoroughly, even now Zuko still has traces of that child in him, we, humans, aren’t very open to change. Not that kind of drastic changes, at least.” He added, eyes hardening in a way that Sokka almost shiver. “</span>
  <span>That’s where I failed my nephew. Maybe I did it on purpose unconsciously, maybe I wanted one thing to be normal and stable in my life when I felt so fragile. But I turned my eyes away when I had to face Zuko’s suffering and it’s my greatest mistake.” Sokka could almost feel the temperature drop in the room. “It was too late for Lu Ten but I could still save Zuko... but I didn’t.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You couldn’t have said anything, then you would be punished, too and Zuko would be all alone and lose himself completely without you guiding him.” Iroh looked at him with a strange expression and Sokka looked back at him almost ashamedly. “He told me about the Agni Kai... about what happened.” He softly touched Iroh’s shoulder. “He doesn’t blame you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Iroh sounded defeated somehow, despite Sokka’s best efforts. “But as I said before, it’s not easy to change a person so </span>
  <span>thoroughly</span>
  <span> in a day. It didn’t start with Agni Kai.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And Sokka wasn’t an idiot, he never imagined </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span> to be the perfect model of a father for 13 years before turning into a monster and hurting his son. He guessed that evil bastard hurt Zuko long before the Agni Kai but it wasn’t something that he could talk about with Zuko. Even talking about the Agni Kai was hard and left Zuko feeling terrible for the rest of the week. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He hurt him, didn’t he?” His voice hardened with a barely held back anger. “Before Agni Kai.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Many times.” Iroh confirmed his fears grimly. “Zuko didn’t tell me, I found out when he was sick in Ba Sing Se. Maybe he was ashamed, maybe he was afraid if he admitted that his father hurt him out loud it would make it real, that his father didn’t love him.” He smiled at Sokka but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you remember that day in Ba Sing Se when we went to save Zuko and your sister?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“How could I forget? </span>
  <span>I was</span>
  <span> so worried.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You asked me how I could still care for Zuko when he was treating me so horribly, that he didn’t deserve my compassion and patience?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s face fell as softly muttered a ‘yes’. In his defense, Sokka didn’t know Zuko back then, he didn’t think there was anything to save in him. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I love Zuko. And I always knew there was so much good in him because I saw that little kid. And I failed him, maybe a part of him believed that I owe it to him. But above all, I knew he didn’t mean it.” And Sokka could understand what he meant even though he could never put it into words as Iroh could. After knowing Zuko, truly knowing him, his actions started to make more sense. “Zuko was abused by his father and later, by his sister so severely, Sokka.” Iroh said his name almost like a plea, for him to understand. He didn’t need to, Sokka understood, to some extent. </span>
  <span>“After Agni Kai, everything started to make sense; him distancing himself from me when I returned to the Fire Nation, him flinching and pulling away from sudden touches... It all made sense when I was tending to him, trying to drag my 13 years old nephew back from the doors of death, in that old ship.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s hands tightened, fingers digging into his thighs as he silently listened to Iroh. It was almost funny how his anger at </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span> became so personal in the last 5 years. It wasn’t about the world anymore; it wasn’t the war. Because </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span> lost it, he was so utterly defeated that he lost the one thing he cared about: power. He had no power, no bending, no nation to rule. He was just a pathetic man chained down in the dungeons. Yet... knowing </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span> felt no remorse for what he did to Zuko and that he never truly paid for </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> crime made Sokka want to punch something. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko felt unsafe, even around me. Even when he was surrounded by people who had no intention of hurting him. And it wasn’t a physical injury he was afraid of. Zuko was often dragged down by hopelessness and despair during our time in the Earth Kingdom. He often believed that he couldn’t have good things, if he had a good day, he would spend the rest of the night nervous. He felt unsafe because he believed he wasn’t made to be happy and it breaks my heart to see that even now. When he looks nervous, waiting for a strike to take him down and take away everything that made him happy...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Sokka nodded sadly. “Sometimes he’s even... paranoid.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He is.” Iroh agreed. “He was ridiculed and criticized harshly by my brother and his sister. No wonder he tried to find a second meaning, a hidden insult behind my every word. Even on the ship with his crew, he took every comment as an insult. He felt threatened and insulted by them. So, he was drawn to </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>, that’s why he chased the Avatar all those years. That’s why he turned his back to my affection. He couldn’t acknowledge a healthy relationship, seeking one thing he couldn’t have.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“His father’s love.” Sokka added bitterly.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And his approval.” Iroh continued. “Don’t blame him for trying to go back to the person who hurt him.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I would never blame him.” Sokka said, voice thick with too many emotions.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He was manipulated by </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>. He fought and worked to have a piece of </span>
  <span>Ozai’s</span>
  <span> attention. And as you said, Zuko takes every task he’s given seriously. He is passionate and hardworking. </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span> gave him a task, an impossible one but still a task. He called it duty and the prize </span>
  <span>was</span>
  <span> his love disguised as honor. He took advantage of Zuko’s sense of duty and his desperation to earn his love.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“But that was the real impossible task, isn’t it?” Sokka asked. “Even if Zuko found Aang, and he did, it wouldn’t mean anything. That wasn’t an impossible task, it was earning </span>
  <span>Ozai’s</span>
  <span> love. Because that jerk doesn’t love anything or anyone.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s true. And maybe Zuko knew that deep inside.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>So,</span>
  <span> he got frustrated and that turned into anger?”  Iroh looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.” He said carefully. “But I think it was a defense mechanism.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“A defense </span>
  <span>mechanism</span>
  <span>?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I believe Zuko was afraid a lot, he felt vulnerable, confused and alone. He hid behind anger when he felt defenseless. </span>
  <span>He lost his temper so easily; shame and humiliation fueled that anger that was born from fear of being defenseless. He was mad at everything and everyone for months, but mostly at himself. So, he shouted and yelled to mask his anger, shame, and self-hatred.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He was just a scared kid who was hurt by the person he was supposed to trust the most.” Sokka muttered softly as realization dawned on him. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Violence hurts the most when it comes from the people you love.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka had nothing to add to that, he turned his blue eyes to the boy who was sleeping in the bed, unaware of the heavy conversation between his friend and his uncle. Sokka could almost understand Zuko’s tendency to burn everything around him. He felt like punching something or kicking. He would like that thing to be </span>
  <span>Ozai</span>
  <span>.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He was pulled back from his angry thoughts by Iroh’s warm hand on his own. He looked up to meet those warm golden eyes again. He was struck by a desire to see Zuko’s similar golden eyes. Only if he could open his eyes...</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You should rest.” Iroh told him. Sokka looked down at Zuko with a frown.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I... I can’t leave him. I know he will be fine and he is well protected right now but... I feel like if I turn around someone will come back to finish the job.” He shuddered at that thought. Iroh walked toward the cabinet, opening its doors to find a soft-looking blanket. He dropped it on Sokka’s shoulders before the young man could complain and smiled down at him again. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay then. If it’s going to make you feel better. But you are safe here. You should rest, too. You can’t go on without sleep.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Sokka nodded because that was true. The whole point of staying here was to protect his friend and if he were sleep-deprived, he wouldn’t be able to do that. “I will.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Iroh nodded at him. “Good night, Sokka.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Good night, Iroh.” He muttered softly as the old man closed the door after himself. Sokka sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead again. At least he was feeling better now. His muscles weren’t tense, his headache was gone and the internal fever died down. Now all that was left behind was the ugly taste of alcohol in his mouth accompanied by tiredness. He leaned forward, wrapping his fingers around Zuko’s as he did before Iroh came in and placed his head on Zuko’s bed. He turned his head to the left, facing his friend’s sleeping form, and smiled softly.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Good night, Zuko.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p>
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